Lee Grant backs Owen Goodman to bounce back from Barnsley nightmare

Huddersfield manager Lee Grant threw his support behind goalkeeper Owen Goodman after he was sent off in a nightmare first half which put Barnsley on their way to a 3-1 derby win.

Davis Keillor-Dunn opened the scoring for Barnsley on nine minutes, capitalising on some poor goalkeeping from Goodman to give his side the lead.

The 21-year-old shot-stopper’s day then went from bad to worse as he was sent off by referee Edward Duckworth for a high boot on David McGoldrick.

It did not take the hosts long to make the man advantage count as captain Luca Connell’s deflected effort gave the Reds a 2-0 lead.

Keillor-Dunn scored his second and Barnsley’s third in the 85th minute before Joe Taylor pulled one back for the Terriers late on.

The result leaves Conor Hourihane’s Reds fourth in League One, leapfrogging Huddersfield who dropped to sixth.

Grant, a successful goalkeeper himself in his playing days, was not too critical of Goodman despite his performance in the first half.

He said: “He’ll be flat as a pancake I imagine, the same as the rest of the group.

“It always stings if you feel like there’s moments where you can be better.

“I’m sure Owen will be disappointed but he’s got the support of his peers and he’s certainly got the support of his manager.

“He’ll have to take his medicine, take his learning and be ready to go again.”

Grant praised his team’s performance despite the defeat.

He added: “It’s not a game that you want to lose. We’re frustrated, there’s plenty of learning to take from it.

“But in terms of the balance – especially after we went down to 10 men – and the work and the intensity and fight, it was incredible from the group. I’m really delighted with how we approached the second half.”

Barnsley head coach Hourihane praised his side’s professional performance after the break.

He added: “I think the big point in the game for me was getting the second before half-time, just to knock the wind out of their sails a little bit.

“We knew they’d come out after the break with nothing to lose and they put us under a little bit of pressure without creating loads.

“I just said to the lads at half-time to be professional in the second half. I didn’t want anyone running off doing their own thing.”

Hourihane was full of praise for Keillor-Dunn and said: “I’m delighted for him.

“He’s not quite been himself in terms of positioning in the last couple of games but I made the change today to swap him to the nine and it paid off.”